Snuggle Play Laugh Love Quilt

Hello everyone, I am Jennifer Overstreet from Gable House Sewing and I want to introduce you to my first Moda Bake Shop quilt, Snuggle Play Laugh Love (SPLL). It is a baby quilt to snuggle with and to be used as a play mat. It is a great quilt that looks complicated, but is super easy for any beginner to make.

So what led me to think of something like this? When my sister and I were babies, my mom would place a quilt down on the floor with abundance of toys to keep us busy. This left my mom free to get some house cleaning done while we rolled around on the floor. I did the same thing with my daughter when she was little too. However, she turned out to be a bit of a blanket caper as she grew from a baby to a bouncing toddler. Needless to say, my daughter’s quilts and blankets have been part of many imaginative adventures.

Now that you know the story behind the idea of this little quilt, lets get started……

If piecing in a strip of fabric in the middle of the backing, you only need 1 yard for the backing

3/8 yard for applique and a strip of fabric for the backing (Best to use Bella Solids Brown)

Plus interfacing of choice for applique

Measurements:

You will be using 41 out of the 42 charm squares

For the inner border to go around the charm squares, you will need to cut out 20- 5 inch x 5 inch squares. To start, cut 3 – 5in x width of fabric (wof) strips. Then cut the strips down to 5in x 5in squares

For the main border, cut out 4 – 5 1/2 inches x wof strips

If using the pieced strip in the back to split up the 1 yard backing, cut 4 1/2 in x wof from the Bella Solids Brown

All seam allowances are 1/4 inch through out.

Step 1:

Open up your charm pack and sort the squares you want to use. Then arrange them according to the pattern scheme.

*You can place your color ways in any way that appeals to your eye. You do not by all means have to follow the color order in this pattern.

Step 2:

Now that you have all your charm squares sorted, add the 20 – 5 in x 5 in squares to the ends of each row. Once the 20 squares are in place, sew each row according to the arrows.

Step 3:

Before you start sewing each completed row together, note that there are arrows pointing on opposite directions on the out side of each row in the picture below. This is meant to to show you which way to press your seams. The reason why you want to press your seams in opposite directions is because when you go to sew the completed rows together, the seams will interlock when you match them up. This technique will make your seams turn out sharp and correct every time. Once seams are ironed, start sewing the completed rows together.

You should have the beginning of a quilt top that looks like this:

Step 4

Next up is to cut off those pointed edges. Start by measuring 1/4 of an inch away from the main part of the quilt top. This way when you go to sew on the main border, your main squares on your quilt top will not be sewn over; leaving the ends of the squares still having visible points towards the main border. Once you have your ruler set cut away the outer pointed edges with your rotary cutter. When you are done, you should have a completely square quilt top. Check picture below for a reference.

Step 5

Take the 4 – 5 1/2 in x wof border and sew one of the borders to the top of the quilt. Sew the next border to the bottom, and then add borders to the sides. Since you cut the borders with the width of fabric, you will have to trim the excess material. Trim up any excessive material and square off edges as needed.

Step 6

You should have a quilt that looks like this:

The Applique Process

Step 7

The templates are available in the Printer Friendly Version at the bottom of this post. Or watch this video to learn how to make them on your own through Microsoft Office using Word.

Once I had my templates printed, I cut them out.

Step 8

*The method that I used for my applique process was to take the 3/8 yd (or 1/4 yard if cut down from piecing in the backing) Bella Solid Brown fabric and a piece of scrap fabric, I then bonded the fabrics together with Heat N Bond Lite. The reason why I went with this method is because I did not want to deal with the paper backing from the Heat N Bond lite. However, feel free to use whatever applique method you are comfortable with.

Take your cut templates and place them on the back of your bonded material. Make sure that the templates are facing backwards too.

Step 9

Then take a pencil and trace around your templates. When you are done tracing your templates, you should have something that looks like this.

Step 10

Cut out your applique words and letters. Once your appliques are cut out, you are ready to place them on the quilt top. I placed them on each corner just above the final square. I then hand stitched each applique onto the quilt top with a whipstitch. Use whatever hand stitch method you are most comfortable with. You can also opt for machine stitching with a blanket stitch or zigzag stitch.

Step 12

Finishing off the quilt

I pieced my backing together with a 4 1/2 in x wof strip of fabric leftover from the Bella Solid Brown. I did it this way so I could sew in a label. I put the quilt together with the backing, batting, and my quilt top. I basted it together with safety pins.

Lastly, I quilted this quilt on my own with my walking foot and a simple wave method. I also used a very thin batting to make machine quilting easier. The picture looks like a squiggly mess but this is how I quilted my quilt and it was very easy to do.

The individual designers featured on this website ultimately hold the copyright for their projects and designs posted on the Moda Bake Shop. Patterns are not intended for sale or digital distribution. All items made from Moda Bake Shop patterns are for personal, non-commercial use only, unless given explicit written permission from the design owner to sell finished products made from their pattern tutorials featured on the Moda Bake Shop.